"Create Your Own Quiche" Guide

There are as many Quiche recipes as there are cooks out there... But they all follow the same guidelines. So here's a kit to create your own quiche. Unleash your imagination!

You will need 4 groups of ingredients:

1. "Pâte Brisée" pie shell (see June 19th post).
2. Cooked veggies or meat (see examples below).
3. Custard mix made of 3 eggs, 2-3 table spoons of crème fraîche (or sour cream), freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper. Beat all these ingredients together and that's it.
   
4. Shredded cheese like Gruyère, Emmentaler or Comté.

Then follow these steps:

1. Roll out the crust and line a 10" tart pan (butter the pan or use baking paper). Use a fork to make a few holes in the shell to prevent it from "ballooning" while baking.
2. Place the veggies or meat at the bottom of the pie shell and spread evenly.
3. Pour the custard mix over the veggies or meat.
4. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
5. Bake 30 to 45 minutes in a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C).

Here are a few examples of veggies or meat:

• 3 yellow onions, finely sliced, sautéed in butter for about 20-30 minutes (until transparent and golden). This is the famous "tarte à l'oignon".
• or, 5 to 6 small zucchinis, sliced or cubed (with or without the skin), sautéed in olive oil with a fresh garlic clove.
• or, a bunch of fresh spinach, sautéed in butter only 2-3 minutes (replace the crème fraîche by ricotta cheese in the custard mix).
• or, cubed fresh ham (I mean plain flavor -no honey, not smoked, uncured, simply cooked; e.g. the French Madrange ham). This is the "Quiche Lorraine" recipe.
• or, 1 or 2 cans of tuna and freshly chopped chives.
• or anything you'd like to try out!

The custard can be made with milk rather than cream, for a lighter option. Bring 2 cups 1 cup of milk to a boil then slowly pour over the beaten eggs, stirring constantly. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper (great with the Quiche Lorraine recipe).

To spice it up, you could add 1 table spoon of whole grain mustard to the custard mix or spread it on the crust before adding the veggies (great with the onion tart recipe). It tastes good and it looks good too!

No need to buy a 300-page book on quiches: you have it all!